


Lost and Found

by freudensteins_monster



Category: Thor - All Media Types
Genre: Based on a Tumblr Post, F/M, First Kiss, First Meetings, Fluff, Magical Accidents, Meant To Be, Romance, Romantic Fluff, Soul Bond, Soul Mate AU, Spells & Enchantments, True Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-29
Updated: 2015-07-29
Packaged: 2018-04-11 20:55:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,085
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4452056
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/freudensteins_monster/pseuds/freudensteins_monster
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Loki casts a spell to find things he’s lost. It doesn’t work as planned.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Lost and Found

[Inspired by this tumblr post...](http://freudensteins-monster.tumblr.com/post/124387309976/writernotwaiting-unseendancingqueen)

 

“Dammit!” Loki cursed as checked under his bed for the fourth time. “Where is it?”

The item in question was a gold ring in the shape of a serpent that his mother had given to him for his five hundredth name day. He didn’t wear it often--it was far too precious for that--but on special occasions Loki would retrieve it from its velvet pouch with the same joyous feeling as the first time. Except this time it wasn’t there. It had almost been a year since he had last worn it, and there was no reason for it to be anywhere but in its pouch, tucked away at the bottom of a locked chest at the foot of his bed. Loki had then proceeded to empty the chest, then his wardrobe, and then the rest of his room, in search of the missing item. The prince collapsed amongst the ruin of his room and groaned mournfully as he tried to find a solution to his problem. Of course he could try and find a spell to assist him, but that’s what got him into this mess in the first place.

He hated to blame himself but it was the only explanation. The first item he had misplaced had been a silver blade which he only ever used in his spell work. In truth he could have gone on to use any old blade to prepare his ingredients, but he’d forged it himself and engraved the handle with runes and sharpened it before every use. It was one his favourite possessions, so when it went missing, instead of searching high and low for it, he opened up a few spell books and cobbled together a spell to return it to him. He had been frustrated and in a hurry, so it hadn’t been a surprise when it failed to get results.

A few days after the knife failed to return, one of the spell books he had been referring to went missing. And the week after that it had been the emerald ribbon he was going to use to wrap his mother’s name day gift. Some of his other favourite books – even the book of Alfheim poetry he only read when he was feeling particularly lonely –had up and vanished too.

Yes, it was all his own fault, he concluded from his uncomfortable position on the floor. Loki sighed and stood up, straightening his room with a few waves of his hand. He slicked back his hair and fixed his coat, ensuring he looked calm and collected – the complete opposite of how he felt – before making his way to the grand hall. He tried to involve himself in the festivities around him as much as he normally would, but he couldn’t ignore his growing frustrations and excused himself early.

“Loki, what troubles you?” a kindly voice asked. Loki sighed and turned to face his mother. Of course she’d noticed. Loki took a moment to put his thoughts in order; it was one thing to admit to his mother, his teacher, that a spell hadn’t worked. It was quite another to admit it had backfired completely.

“Almost two months ago I misplaced my favourite knife. I cast a spell to locate it but it didn’t work, at least not in the way that I intended.”

“What happened?”

“More items have gone missing. Instead of bringing back what was lost it seems to be taking them.”

“Well, they must be going somewhere,” Frigga mused, retrieving from a pocket in space a small leather-bound volume. “Here,” she said handing the book to her son.

“But…” Loki gawked, flipping through the handwritten spell book. “This is your personal grimoire.”

“It is. But it may have some use to you. I recall a time when I was forever losing earrings. I wrote my own spell to find them.”

“Thank you, mother. I shall take good care of it and return it to you tomorrow.”

“No hurry, dear,” Frigga smiled warmly.

Loki returned to his room and read his mother’s spell book cover to cover before jotting down the location spell which should assist him. He readied for bed and slipped the book beneath his pillow, not wanting to risk it disappearing on him, but when morning came he momentarily forgot about it and when he returned from breakfast the book had vanished. Loki cursed his stupidity and immediately got to work on his mother’s location spell in the hopes he could get his belongings back before she asked for the return of her book.

** *** **

Sigyn hummed to herself as she braided a green ribbon through her hair, leaving the bulk of it loose, hanging in fiery waves down to the small of her back. She reached for her hairbrush and found it sitting atop book that hadn’t been there a moment before.

“Another one...” she muttered curiously, flipping through the pages, marvelling at the handwritten spells. She paused when she came upon the notation on the first page, the colour draining from her face. “Oh no.”

She quickly ran a brush through the rest of her hair and changed from her simple cotton smock into something finer before grabbing the book and racing out of her bedroom. A split second later she rushed back into her bedroom and grabbed a satchel from her closet and began filling it with books and trinkets before racing out again, leaving hurried footfalls and slamming doors in her wake.

** *** **

Frigga had relocated to her favourite sitting room overlooking the gardens when her guest was led through.

“Good morning, your majesty. Thank you for seeing me.”

“Of course, my dear. Sigyn, wasn’t it?”

“Yes, your majesty. Sigyn Brennasdotter.”

“That would be the same Brenna who owns the apothecary in town, yes? Our head healer, Lady Eir, raves about her work and has been trying to talk her into moving her workplace to the healing halls.”

“As much as my mother would be honoured to hold a position in the palace, I fear she lacks the patience for, well, patients.”

“Understandable, my dear. Such close proximity to illness is not for everyone. But what of you? Why did you need to see me so urgently?”

Frigga watched curiously as the girl’s face dropped and she removed a book from her satchel and handed it to her.

“I believe this belongs to you, your majesty.”

“This… this is my spell book,” Frigga remarked, turning it over in her hands.

“Yes, your majesty – and I swear on my life that I did not steal it. I found your inscription inside the cover and came to return it to you immediately.”

“How did you happen upon it?”

“I… I found it.”

“Where did you find it, Sigyn dear?” the queen asked.

“I…” Sigyn sighed in defeat. “On my dresser, your majesty. It just appeared!” she cried desperately, trying to convince the queen of her innocence. “I realise how ridiculous it sounds, your majesty, truly I do. But I’m speaking the truth. I simply turned around and it was there.”

The queen smiled knowingly but it was not enough to soothe the flustered girl.

“This is not the first thing that has appeared in your home, is it?”

“No, your majesty.” Sigyn placed her satchel on the small between them, her eyes downcast. “I didn’t think much of it at first, your majesty. I thought I was just lucky – I was working in my mother’s shop and there was an unfamiliar blade by my hand. I found a spell book, a title I had been searching for for years, upon the dining table. I had simply thought my mother had purchased them. It took weeks, and a few more items showing up, before I believed something stranger was afoot. I know I should have tried harder to find their rightful owner, but I’m afraid I didn’t know where to start. Your book was the only item to have any sort of mark or identifier of its owner so I gathered them all to bring back to you the moment I saw it. I swear it, your majesty.”

“Thank you, my dear. I’m sure their owner will greatly appreciate their return. Oh, they are not mine,” she added after Sigyn looked at her strangely. “This book is mine but I leant it to my son yesterday. All of these things you have been finding belong to him.”

“Oh…” Sigyn remarked, her brows creasing in confusion. “I still don’t understand how I came to be involved in this sorcery – why did his belongings come to me?”

“I think that is a question best answered by my son,” Frigga replied with a knowing smile.

** *** **

Loki tried to hide his nerves as he hurried towards his mother’s favoured sitting room. She wasn’t one to rush to anger but he knew she would be upset that his stupid spell had taken her personal grimoire. He hated the idea of disappointing his mother and the closer he got to her rooms the more his failure began to gnaw at him. He pushed opened the sitting room doors and strode in, his words dying on his tongue when he saw that his mother was not alone.

“Mother, I’m so sorry…”

The young girl promptly got to her feet and curtsied.

“Loki, thank you for coming to so quickly. May I introduce Sigyn Brennasdotter, she works with her mother at the apothecary in town.”

Loki recovered and, remembering his manners, stepped forward to take the young woman’s hand.

“A pleasure, my lady.”

“Sigyn has been kind enough to return all your belongings.”

Loki tore his gaze away from his mother’s guest and stared at the items upon the table. He stepped forward and began rifling eagerly through the satchel.

“This is everything. Where did you find them?”

“Uh, in my home,” Sigyn replied bashfully. “On my workbench, on my dresser…”

“But why did they go to you?” Loki asked.

“Exactly what we were asking ourselves before I sent for you. Perhaps together we can figure it out and reverse your spell. What spell did you use, exactly?”

“Well, I… I kind of took a bit for a few different locator spells to try and personalise it for my needs,” Loki confessed.

“I take it you didn’t work too hard on it,” Frigga chuckled. “Alright, which spells did you borrow from?”

“Well, I used parts of Asmund’s spell to protect that which is important, and elements of Bienir’s locator spell. And,” he said, reaching to the satchel to remove a book. “For a base I used one of Gosta’s spells: To bring together that which was lost.” Loki said, flipping to the book until he found the right page.

“Why would you use one of Gosta’s spells?” Sigyn asked, a smile dancing on her lips.

“And why not?” Loki replied irritably, his already wounded ego wincing at the sound of her soft laughter.

“Gosta was obsessed with love. Most of his work was geared toward finding his lost love.”

Then it was Frigga’s turn to laugh.

“What’s so funny?”

“Oh, my dear boy. I do believe you created quite a marvellous spell. Instead of bringing what was lost to you, it seems your spell took what was important to you and bound them… to your soul mate.”

“What?!” Loki turned to stare at Sigyn, before both of them blushed and averted their gaze.

The queen couldn’t help but laugh and made to excuse herself. “I think I’ll let the pair of you sort this out.”

Loki tried to stop his mother from leaving him alone with the strange woman but in the end he was left stammering at a closed door.

“I’m… I’m sorry,” Loki babbled nervously. “About my mother.”

Sigyn, her cheeks still flushed, tried to shrug off their mutual embarrassment. “Embarrassing their children is what mothers do best. Had it been my mother I fear she would have locked the doors and not let you out until you proposed. Your mother didn’t lock the doors, did she?” Sigyn asked nervously.

“Ha, no. I don’t believe she did.”

“Well, in that instance, perhaps it’s best that I return home. I’m sure my mother is beginning to wonder where I ran off to.”

“Of course. But please allow me to return my things to my chambers so that I can give you back your satchel. I’m afraid you might need it again before I manage to reverse the spell.”

“As you say, your majesty.”

They walked together in awkward silence. Sigyn, having only been to the palace once before, used the time to stare in wonderment at her surroundings. Her eyes went wider still when the prince opened his chamber doors and Sigyn saw the plush interior.

“Amazing…” she whispered from the doorway.

“What was that?”

“Oh! Um, I was just marvelling at your room. It’s amazing. My own room is mostly bookshelves as well, though it is much, much smaller.”

Loki smiled at her remark and upended the satchel on his bed, picking through the items to ensure everything he thought had been taken by the spell had been returned. He picked up the compendium of Gosta’s work and was about put it to the side when he heard a small intake of breath from his doorway.

“I’m sorry, did you want to keep this?”

“I…” Sigyn fidgeted and stared at her feet. “I must confess to wanting it, your majesty. It was one of the first things that appeared and I was so grateful for it – I’d been looking for a copy for years.”

“And why would you want a book of love spells?” Loki teased.

Sigyn blushed once more but pushed passed it. “After every solstice celebration, every great feast, we have an influx of customers seeking spells to reunite them with their lovers, or to divine whether it was true love or just the mead.”

“So you wish to make money off it?”

“I wish to help my customers,” Sigyn shot back.

“Very well.” Loki smiled and placed the book in Sigyn’s bag before returning it to her.

“Thank you, your majesty.”

“Thank you for returning my things. But,” he said, remembering something important. “Did you happen to receive a velvet pouch with a gold ring inside?”

“Oh! Oh, I am so sorry, your majesty! I put it away somewhere safe and forgot about it this morning – I’m so sorry! It wasn’t intentional, I swear!”

“I believe you,” Loki replied seriously, putting a hand on her arm to console her. The fear of upsetting a royal was something most visitors to the palace shared but the idea of Sigyn being scared of him concerned Loki in a way that he couldn’t quite figure out. “But… I’d very much like it back. It has sentimental importance to me.”

“Of course, your majesty. I shall return it first thing tomorrow.”

“Might I get it sooner?” Loki asked hopefully. “Perhaps I can offer you a ride back to your home?”

Sigyn blushed once more before accepting his offer.

** *** **

Loki rode his steed around the outskirts of town, keen to avoid prying eyes connected to wagging tongues. He smirked as Sigyn increased his grip on around his waist as his horse came to a sudden stop atop a hill overlooking the section of the city that house its apothecaries, alchemists and other trades of their ilk.

“I believe we are here.”

“Yes!” Sigyn laughed, dismounting without too much thought to maintaining a ladylike dignity. “Wait here, your majesty. I shall return shortly.”

“Yes,” Loki mused. “Wouldn’t want your mother locking me away. And please, call me Loki. Surely we are beyond formalities.”

“As you wish, Loki,” Sigyn smiled. “I won’t be long.”

Loki sat down at the base of a tree, leaning against the trunk as his horse grazed nearby. He began to turn over the events of the morning, and the spell that brought him here, and became so lost in thought that when it occurred to him to blink he could see already see Sigyn making her way back to him. As she climbed back up the hill Loki couldn’t help but liken Sigyn to some strange forest nymph as dappled sunlight moved across her. Her dark blue dress swam about her like a stream, her hair was the colour of autumn leaves, and her eyes, he noticed when she returned to his side slightly out of breath, were like freshly tilled earth. The beginning and end of life was held in her eyes and Loki was mesmerised.

Wordlessly Sigyn handed over the velvet pouch and Loki stopped staring at her long enough to pour the contents of the pouch onto his palm. He smiled at the sight of the gleaming ring and promptly slid it onto his index finger.

“Thank you, Sigyn.”

“You’re most welcome, y-… Loki.”

Loki glanced at Sigyn once more, his eyes drawn by the emerald ribbon braided in her hair.

“Is that…” he wondered out loud, his hand straying to her braid.

“Oh, yes, I’m sorry,” she stammered, moving to undo her hair.

“No, no, please. It’s fine, please keep it. I no longer require it. It looks lovely in your hair.”

“Hardly,” Sigyn blushed. “It went well with a dress I was wearing earlier. I’m sure it looks quite odd now.”

Loki reached out and ran his fingers over the ribbon, the thin strip of fabric changing from emerald green to sapphire blue. “There, now it compliments your gown.”

Sigyn giggled and reached up to touch her braid but found Loki’s hand instead as it lingered there. He ran his fingers through her hair and stared at her wistfully.

“Do you believe what my mother said about the spell? Do you believe we are destined to be soul mates?”

Sigyn smiled bashfully, her own fingers lingering at his wrist. “I think we write our own destinies, Loki. I don’t think we should leave it up to spells.”

“I think you’re right,” Loki replied breathlessly. He cupped the side of her face and closed the distance between them. He moved closer still but his insecurities held him back, waiting for a sign from the woman before him that his overture was not unwanted. His fears disappeared the moment her lips pressed against his, sweet and pure but full of yearning. Loki smiled against Sigyn’s lips and pulled her close, content in the knowledge that everything that had been missing from his life had now been found.


End file.
